Enhancement of collagen deposition and cross-linking by coupling lysyl oxidase with bone morphogenetic protein-1 and its application in tissue engineering

Cultured cell-derived extracellular matrices (ECM)-based biomaterials exploit the inherent capacity of cells to create highly sophisticated supramolecular assemblies. However, standard cell culture conditions are far from ideal given the fact that the diluted microenvironment does not favor the production of ECM components, a circumstance particularly relevant for collagen. An incomplete conversion of procollagen by C-proteinase/bone morphogenetic protein 1 (BMP1) has been proposed to severely limit in vitro collagen deposition. BMP1 also catalyzes the proteolytic activation of the precursor of the collagen cross-linking enzyme, lysyl oxidase (LOX) to yield the active form, suggesting a deficit in cross-linking activity under standard conditions. We hypothesized that the implementation of fibroblast cultures with LOX and BMP1 may be an effective way to increase collagen deposition. To test it, we have generated stable cell lines overexpressing LOX and BMP1 and studied the effect of supernatants enriched in LOX and BMP1 on collagen synthesis and deposition from fibroblasts. Herein, we demonstrate that the supplementation with LOX and BMP1 strongly increased the deposition of collagen onto the insoluble matrix at the expense of the soluble fraction in the extracellular medium. Using decellularization protocols, we also show that fibroblast-derived matrices regulate adipogenic and osteogenic differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells (MSC), and this effect was modulated by LOX/BMP1. Collectively, these data demonstrate that we have developed a convenient protocol to enhance the capacity of in vitro cell cultures to deposit collagen in the ECM, representing this approach a promising technology for application in tissue engineeringTis work was supported by grants from Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (Plan Nacional de I+D+I: SAF2012-34916, and SAF2015-65679-R to F.R-P

Petrogenetic aspects of Los Pedroches granodiorite (Central zone of Los Pedroches batholith, Córdoba, Spain)

[Resumen] Se ha realizado un estudio petrológico y geoquímico detallado de la granodiorita de Los Pedroches y de sus enclaves microgranitoides (sensu VERNON, 1983). Tanto en granodiorita como en enclaves se han obtenido datos de elementos mayores y trazas en roca total (incluidos REE) y datos de microsonda electrónica para las fases minerales mayoritarias. Se concluye que tanto las rocas estudiadas como sus enclaves pueden haber sido generados a partir de fundido(s) procedente(s) de un mismo protolito cortical, puesto que los datos geoquímicos de los enclaves no permiten inferir una hibridación de material cortical con cantidades significativas de material exótico. Se sugiere una explicación alternativa para la generación de los enclaves microgranitoides estudiados, que permite explicar tanto su naturaleza ígnea como la totalidad de sp::; rasgos geoquímicos[Abstract] A detailed petrologic and geochemical study of Los Pedroches granodiorite and its microgranitoid enclaves (sensu VERNON, 1983) has been performed. Wholerock major and trace elements (including REE) chemical data and electron microprobe mineral analysis of mayor phases have been obtained, both from granodiorites and microgranitoid enclaves. It is concluded that both studied rocks and their enclaves can have been generated from melt(s) derived from the same crustal protolith, since geochemical data from enclaves do not permit to deduce an hybridization of crustal melts with signifcants amounts of exotic material. An alternative explanation of studied microgranitoid enclaves, allowing to interprete both their igneous character and aH their observed geochemical features is suggested

Predictive learning, prediction errors, and attention: evidence from event-related potentials and eye tracking

Prediction error (‘‘surprise’’) affects the rate of learning: We learn more rapidly about cues for which we initially make incorrect predictions than cues for which our initial predictions are correct. The current studies employ electrophysiological measures to reveal early attentional differentiation of events that differ in their previous involvement in errors of predictive judgment. Error-related events attract more attention, as evidenced by features of event-related scalp potentials previously implicated in selective visual attention (selection negativity, augmented anterior N1). The earliest differences detected occurred around 120 msec after stimulus onset, and distributed source localization (LORETA) indicated that the inferior temporal regions were one source of the earliest differences. In addition, stimuli associated with the production of prediction errors show higher dwell times in an eyetracking procedure. Our data support the view that early attentional processes play a role in human associative learning

Optical measurement of heteronuclear cross-relaxation interactions in Tm:YAG

We investigate cross-relaxation interactions between Tm and Al in Tm:YAG using two optical methods: spectral holeburning and stimulated echoes. These interactions lead to a reduction in the hyperfine lifetime at magnetic fields that bring the Tm hyperfine transition into resonance with an Al transition. We develop models for measured echo decay curves and holeburning spectra near a resonance, which are used to show that the Tm-Al interaction has a resonance width of 10~kHz and reduces the hyperfine lifetime to 0.5 ms. The antihole structure is consistent with an interaction dominated by the Al nearest neighbors at 3.0 Angstroms, with some contribution from the next nearest neighbors at 3.6 Angstroms.Comment: 13 pages, 9 figure

Nuevas aportaciones al diagnóstico foliar de los viñedos de la zona de Jerez

13 páginas, 8 figuras, 12 referencias.-- La publicación se encuentra en la Sección II: Olivicultura y Viticultura.-- El II Coloquio Europeo y Mediterráneo se celebró en Sevilla.[ES]: Se ha seguido el estudio del equilibrio nutritivo actual de las viñas de una de las regiones de más fama mundial, la zona de Jerez, típica de vinos famosos, fmos, amontillados, olorosos, y manzanillas. El gran número de datos recogidos han permitido confirmar por métodos de positivo valor estadístico el equilibrio nutritivo óptimo en las vides de Sanlúcár de Barrameda y Jerez, en experiencias de abonado seguidas desde 1960. Un muestreo sistemático por toda la zona ha permitido conocer el efecto de los sistemas de abonado usuales y el estado general de nutrición, puestos de manifiesto por el control de nutrientes en hojas.[FR]: On a suivi l'étude de l'équilibre nutritif actuel des vignes d'une des régions les plus fameuses du monde: la zone de Jerez, typique de vins renommés : "finos, manzanillas, olorosos et amontillados". Le grand nombre de renseignements recueillis a permis de confirmer par méthodes de valeur statistique positive, l'équilibre nutritif optimum dans les vignes de Sanlúcar de Barrameda et Jerez, en expériences de traitement par engrais suivi depuis 1960. Un prélèvement systematique par toute la zone, a permis de connaitre l'effet des systèmes de traitement par engrais habituels, mis en évidence par le contrôle de substances nutritives aux feuilles.Peer reviewe

Recommendations and guidelines for applied nutrition experiments in rabbits

[EN] The aim of this paper was to draw up a set of recommendations for applied nutrition and feeding trials with rabbits, in relation to certain aspects such as determining the nutritive value of raw materials or diets in growing or reproducing animals, studying digestive physiology and obtaining growth and reproduction parameters. We deal first with animals, size of the sample, housing conditions, diets, handling, measurements, and the data analyses relevant to the design of the experiment are described. Secondly, we give a list of recommended items and include some comments.This study was partly supported by the EUROPEAN COMMISSION (ERAFE program and the COST 848 Action).Fernández-Carmona, J.; Blas, E.; Pascual Amorós, JJ.; Maertens, L.; Gidenne, T.; Xiccato, G.; García, J. (2005). Recommendations and guidelines for applied nutrition experiments in rabbits. World Rabbit Science. 13. doi:10.4995/wrs.2005.516SWORD1

Isolated effective coherence (iCoh): causal information flow excluding indirect paths

A problem of great interest in real world systems, where multiple time series measurements are available, is the estimation of the intra-system causal relations. For instance, electric cortical signals are used for studying functional connectivity between brain areas, their directionality, the direct or indirect nature of the connections, and the spectral characteristics (e.g. which oscillations are preferentially transmitted). The earliest spectral measure of causality was Akaike's (1968) seminal work on the noise contribution ratio, reflecting direct and indirect connections. Later, a major breakthrough was the partial directed coherence of Baccala and Sameshima (2001) for direct connections. The simple aim of this study consists of two parts: (1) To expose a major problem with the partial directed coherence, where it is shown that it is affected by irrelevant connections to such an extent that it can misrepresent the frequency response, thus defeating the main purpose for which the measure was developed, and (2) To provide a solution to this problem, namely the "isolated effective coherence", which consists of estimating the partial coherence under a multivariate auto-regressive model, followed by setting all irrelevant associations to zero, other than the particular directional association of interest. Simple, realistic, toy examples illustrate the severity of the problem with the partial directed coherence, and the solution achieved by the isolated effective coherence. For the sake of reproducible research, the software code implementing the methods discussed here (using lazarus free-pascal "www.lazarus.freepascal.org"), including the test data as text files, are freely available at: https://sites.google.com/site/pascualmarqui/home/icoh-isolated-effective-coherenceComment: 2014-02-21 pre-print, technical report, KEY Institute for Brain-Mind Research, University of Zurich, et a

Holography: 50th anniversary of Dennis Gabor’s Nobel Prize: Part II. An engineering perspective

The holographic principle, discovered by Gabor, and realized by Leith & Upatnieks and Denisyuk is discussed. The intrinsic value of this idea and its continuing ability to motivate and inspire engineers and applied physicists is reviewed.Science Foundation Ireland, The Irish Research Council for Science Engineering and Technology, Enterprise Ireland, and the European Commission. “Generalitat Valenciana” of Spain (projects PROMETEO/2021/006 and IDIFEDER/2021/014, cofunded by European Union through the FEDER Programme) and by the “Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación” of Spain (projects FIS2017-82919-R and PID2019-106601RB-I00)

The water stability of shrimp diets with various polysaccharides as a binding agent

The water stability of shrimp (Penaeus monodon) diets with various polysaccharides as binding agents were tested without steaming. The diet with alginate showed the best water stability and did not completely disintegrate in 24 hours. However, the use of alginate is dependent on cost and availability, so alternate choices may be a combination of sago palm starch and wheat flour or glutinous rice flour

Teegi: Tangible EEG Interface

We introduce Teegi, a Tangible ElectroEncephaloGraphy (EEG) Interface that enables novice users to get to know more about something as complex as brain signals, in an easy, en- gaging and informative way. To this end, we have designed a new system based on a unique combination of spatial aug- mented reality, tangible interaction and real-time neurotech- nologies. With Teegi, a user can visualize and analyze his or her own brain activity in real-time, on a tangible character that can be easily manipulated, and with which it is possible to interact. An exploration study has shown that interacting with Teegi seems to be easy, motivating, reliable and infor- mative. Overall, this suggests that Teegi is a promising and relevant training and mediation tool for the general public.Comment: to appear in UIST-ACM User Interface Software and Technology Symposium, Oct 2014, Honolulu, United State